Pro Shop Bids Against Private Equity For Vernon Hills Toys R US

VERNON HILLS, IL — The Vernon Hills location of the liquidating retailer Toys R US is one of several due to be auctioned Thursday, as two firms have placed qualified bids to pick up the Townline Road real estate. On March 15, Toys R Us announced it was liquidating the inventory of all of its 735 U.S. stores after filing for bankruptcy last year, and the first of those locations are set to hit the auction block this week.

"I am very disappointed with the result, but we no longer have the financial support to continue the Company's U.S. operations," said CEO Dave Brandon.

Sunday, the company shut down its online store with a message encouraging shoppers to drop my their local stores and take advantage storewide markdowns of up to 30 percent.

“We have shut down the website for any purchases but our brick and mortar stores are open and holding going out of business sales," said a message on the company website. "We encourage you to stop by your local store and take full advantage of the deep discounts and deals available."

Here's who's bidding for the Vernon Hills Toys R Us:

AVG Partners is a Beverly Hills, California-based private equity company that owns more than 200 properties in 22 states, focusing on single tenant commercial properties and portfolios. According to its website, it was formed in 1997 in order to invest in "triple net" commercial properties across the country.

Golf & Tennis Pro Shop Inc. is the Roswell, Georgia-based parent company of PGA Tour Superstore, which has tripled its brick-and-mortar footprint to 32 stores in 14 states and said it plans to grow by another 50 percent over the next three years. The company's chairman is the billionaire co-founder of The Home Depot and the owner of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United sports teams.

According to court documents filed in Virginia, Toys R Us' debtors will have until April 12 to give final approval to any sales after this week's auction.

Toys R Us was continuing to add stores right up until its collapse.

While other retailers scaled back their less profitable locations, bankruptcy filings show the company had 1,691 stores at the start of 2017, up from 1,622 the prior year. Its filings also showed it owed $7.9 billion to more than 100,000 creditors and had just $6.6 billion in assets.

Bloomberg reported last month that Amazon is considering buying some of the emptying big box locations. Neither company has commented on the idea.

Related:

• Toys R Us Closing Vernon Hills Store
• Toys R Us Will Sell Or Close Remaining Illinois Stores
• Toymakers Launch Last-Ditch Effort To Save Toys R Us
• Toys R Us Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Outlines Strategy
• Toys R Us Closing Is The End Of An Era
• Toys R Us Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Outlines Strategy